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76-158--93-M136

Child, Julia. Papers, 1920-1993: A Finding Aid

Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America

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Radcliffe College
November 1993

© 1993 Radcliffe College

Descriptive Summary

Call No.: 76-158--93-M136
Repository: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute
Creator: Julia Child, 1912-
Title: Papers, 1920-1993
Quantity: 36 cartons, 1 file box, 6 folio+ boxes, 2 folio boxes, 3 oversize folders, 4 folio+ folders, 6 folio folders, videotapes and audiotapes
Abstract: Correspondence, writings, photographs, etc., of Julia Child, cookbook author, teacher, and TV personality.

Processing Information:

Preliminary inventory: November 1993
By: Jane S. Knowles

Acquisition Information:

Accession numbers: 76-158, 77-M35, 77-M35, 77-M156, 79-M223, 79-M295, 80-M66, 81-M119, 83-M224, 84-M51, 87-M97, 88-M68, 90-M171, 92-M1, 92-M80, 92-M165, 93-M2, 93-M10, 93-M89, 93-M97, 93-M136
The papers of Julia Child were given to the Schlesinger Library by her between May 1976 and August 1993.

TERMS OF USE:

Access. The papers are open to research.

Use Restrictions:

Copyright. Copyright is retained by Julia Child.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.

BIOGRAPHY

Julia Child, cookbook writer, cookery teacher, and TV personality, was born Julia Carolyn McWilliams, in Pasadena, Calif., on August 15, 1912. She attended the Katharine Branson School in Ross, California (1927-1930), and was graduated from Smith College in 1934. She worked in public relations in New York City, 1934-1941, and served in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), 1941-46. She was stationed in Ceylon where she met her future husband, and in China.
In 1946, she married Paul Cushing Child. While he was in Paris with the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), JC studied at the Cordon Bleu and soon opened a cooking school, L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, with Simone Beck and Louisette Remion Bertholle. Her first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, written with Beck and Bertholle, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961; the second volume, by JC and SB, appeared in 1970. These books gathered together the methods and recipes of classic French cooking and introduced Americans to French cooking that worked.
In 1962 JC launched "The French Chef" on WGBH-TV, the Public Broadcasting System channel in Boston, followed by two other series of "The French Chef" in color (1970, 1972). She resolutely refused all offers to appear on commercial television, preferring the freedom to run the program without interference from sponsors. Two cookbooks based on the series were published: The French Chef Cookbook (Knopf, 1968; Bantam, 1972) and From Julia Child's Kitchen (Knopf, 1975, Jonathan Cape, 1978). In the TV programs and the books that accompanied them, JC was able to communicate, with gusto and enthusiasm, classic techniques for cooking, showing the importance of fresh produce and ingredients and of correct kitchen equipment and cooking procedures. She won a national following and launched a revolution in cooking and eating in this country.
Three more TV series followed: "Julia Child and Company" (1978), "Julia Child and More Company" (1980), and "Dinner with Julia" (1982). Knopf brought out companion cookbooks for the first two of these shows. Her next book, The Way to Cook (Knopf, 1989), was accompanied by a "how-to" video.
As a star popular entertainer, JC has been much in demand for cooking demonstrations, lectures, and promotions for countless non-profit organizations. She has also appeared with the Boston Pops Orchestra, taken part in TV specials (as compère of programs about White House banquets), and appeared on talk shows and as a guest on ABC's "Good Morning America."
In addition to her six major cookbooks, she wrote regular columns for The Boston Globe, McCall's, Parade, and many articles on food or cookery in other magazines. She has sponsored the International Culinary Fellowship and was a founder member of the American Institute of Wine and Food.
JC always worked with a team of colleagues. First and foremost was her husband Paul Child, foreign service officer, photographer, artist, and chronicler of their life together. After his retirement, he was "resident manager" for her TV shows, was responsible for black and white still photography, and contributed some of the line drawings illustrating Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Other colleagues included Ruth Lockwood, producer of her TV series; Avis DeVoto, the friend who, when Houghton Mifflin rejected the manuscript for Mastering the Art of French Cooking sent it to Knopf, which published it; Peggy Yntema, co-author of Julia Child and Company and Julia Child and More Company; Gladys Christopherson, secretary; and a host of others who answered fan letters or helped backstage with the production of her television programs.
The Childs maintained three homes: in Cambridge, Santa Barbara, and in the south of France, where they built a summer home on the property of JC's colleague, Simone Beck.
JC's many awards include the Peabody (1965) and Emmy (1966) for "The French Chef" (the first to be given to a PBS program), l'Ordre du Mérite Agricole (1967), l'Ordre National du Mérite (1976), and honorary degrees from Boston College, Bates College, Smith College, and Harvard University (1993). Her 80th birthday was cause for many celebratory banquets and tributes as America toasted its favorite chef.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The collection includes the personal and professional papers of JC and her husband Paul Child; it is arranged in six series. The general index at the end of the finding aid includes names of correspondents, associations, and businesses, and organizations.

SUMMARY OF INVENTORY

PRELIMINARY LIST OF ADDED ENTRIES

The following catalog entries represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. An entry for each appears in the Harvard On Line Library Information System (HOLLIS) and other automated bibliographic databases.
Beard, James, 1903-
Beck, Simone
Bertholle, Louisette
Bocuse, Paul, 1926-
Brody, Lora, 1945-
Chamberlain, Narcisse
Chamberlain, Samuel, 1895-
Child, Charles, 1902-
Child, Julia
Child, Paul Cushing, 1902-
Claiborne, Craig
David, Elizabeth, 1913-
DeVoto, Avis MacVicar, 1904-
Fisher, M.F.K. (Mary Frances Kennedy), 1908-
Jones, Judith Kamman, Madeleine
Mondavi, Robert, 1913-
Rombauer, Irma von Starkloff, 1877-1962
Stewart, Martha
Willan, Anne
Authors
Cookery, American
Cookery, French
Cookery--Study and teaching
Cookery--United States
Cooking schools
Cooks
French Chef (Television program)
Menus
Recipes
Scripts
Television programs
United States Information Service
United States. Office of Strategic Services

CONTAINER LIST

INVENTORY

INDEX

Selected index to names (of people, publishers, places) and subjects. Numbers refer to folder numbers.

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